News Broadcasting
Shakeup at Siticable
Siticable is going through a bout of restructuring what with Zee Telefilms chief executive R.K. Singh and president (distribution) Tony D’silva, putting their imprint on the MSO, which boasts a penetration of 5.5 million homes.
For starters, Zee Telefilms has restructured its distribution operations into four units – Siticable (distribution and development), Direct to operator (its digital bouquet package), ad sales, and Internet through cable.
Changes are taking place even as far as the people heading some activities is concerned. Hari Goenka, who headed Siticable’s northern operations for quite some time, has been shifted along with C.S. Arora, another senior executive into the HFC (hybrid fibre coax cable project). Sunil Khanna, who was heading ad sales for Siticable, for more than half a decade has resigned from the company. The company is on the lookout for a replacement.
The operations of the northern and central regions of Siticable have been merged into one with the regional director (north and central) being R. Marwah.
In the south, the operations have yet to be rationalised with two regional directors, one looking after Andhra Pradesh, one after Karnataka. The western region has D.K. Pandey, spearheading Maharashtra while A. Jain looks after Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The company does not have a regional director looking after the west as a whole. Neither does it have one for the east. Again, efforts are being made to fill the vacancies.
Singh and D’silva will have to move fast just to stay in place. The reason: even rival Star TV has its eye on the same target, getting lots more cachet with Indian cable TV operators through distribution initiatives.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
